ABSTRACT
The theme of this book is the relationship between education andsustainability and, conversely, how modern education functions as an institution of assimilation and extinction. In the past, people had little choice in selecting their cultural, linguistic, or biotic communities as these were prescribed by birth and circumstances; however, today we have the semblance of choice through increased cross-cultural and cross-linguistic contacts viamigration, travel, economic activity, the media and Internet, and education. Of all these contact sites, it is education that is the most systematic anddeterministic, leaving students little choice but to integrate to school language(s) and culture(s) if they are to succeed. Therefore, it is critical to expand the repertoire of educational options available to communities beyond thenarrow formula established in the colonial period. Yet, to change education is no small task as we are inclined to reproduce our childhood educational experiences. As a result, to change education requires a consensus recognition and discernment of those qualities to be retained, adopted, ordiscarded and the will and means to implement those changes.
